Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

June 6, 2007

BRIAN WILSON/Count

Basie Theatre/May 12

by Ken Shane

RED BANK, NJ—I had planned

to write this review of the

previous night’s Brian Wilson

show at Bergen PAC. After all,

the sound at the Basie isn’t

always good, plus the theatre

was holding its annual

fundraising gala that night, so

a good portion of the audience

would be there in support of it,

and not necessarily to see the

former Beach Boy. But then

something magical happened,

and while the Bergen PAC show

was excellent, the Red Bank

show was simply off the charts.

My concerns about the

evening were only exacerbated

when the “opening act” turned

out to be someone auctioning

off high ticket items to benefit

the theatre. Between theatre

patrons bidding up $30,000 for

upscale vacations or to have

David Bryan play the piano at

a party in their home, and the

hardcore Wilson faithful waiting

for the show to start, the scene

was somewhat surreal.

It was when the bidding

ended that the real prize was

revealed. The appearance of

the gentle Californian, whose

sense of childlike wonder

reminds us all of better times,

set off an emotional reaction

reserved for only the most

legendary performers. Wilson

and his band treated the

spellbound audience to a virtual

tour through every era of his

long and illustrious career. Not

enough can be said about this

band. They all sing, many are

multi-instrumentalists, and they

are all clearly thrilled to be doing

what they do. Led by guitarist

Jeffrey Foskett and keyboard

player Darian Sahanaja, the

talented ensemble seem like

nothing so much as Brian

Wilson fans who were inspired

to become musicians and have

now landed their dream gig.

Much of the audience didn’t

seem to remember or care that

they had paid a steep price for

their seats in the 81-year-old

theatre because they didn’t sit

much. Nearly every one of the

25 songs in the set provoked a

standing ovation to one degree

or another, and oftentimes the

crowd remained on its feet while

the band was playing. You

cannot, in fact, pay for this

music. It’s a gift that we’re given

by very special artists.

The highlight of the night

came for me after a brilliant

performance of one of the most

beloved songs in the Wilson

canon, “God Only Knows.” The

audience rose as one to salute

the composer. But then

something special happened.

No one sat down. The applause

began to build and did not stop.

This was no acknowledgement

of any one song, but a heartfelt

thank you from the people

assembled in this hall, on this

night, for a magnificent career.

I had tears in my eyes, and I

was certainly not alone. In

return, the band was clearly

touched by the tribute to their

boss.

There was another boss in

the house. During the encores,

local resident Bruce

Springsteen appeared on stage,

and while the audience was

euphoric, Springsteen made it

a point to stay well in the

background in deference to

Wilson. He played guitar and

sang background vocals on

“Barbara Ann,” but never tried

to take the spotlight away from

the star of the show. There was

also a guest appearance from

Smithereens’ drummer Dennis

Diken on a couple of songs in

the encore, and both he and

Springsteen reappeared for the

evening’s final song, Wilson’s

beautiful plea for peace in this

troubled world, “Love And

Mercy.”

Brian Wilson is a great

American composer and a

national treasure.